Most parents are often uncertain and second-guess on when it is the right time to take their kids to see an orthodontist. As a parent, you are afraid to do it too early and have your child chicken out or do it too late and cause permanent dental flaws. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that your child visits the orthodontist by the age of 7.
However, this is not the bare minimum or maximum age to take your child for their first orthodontic screening. If your child starts having noticeable dental problems before age 7, you should take them to the orthodontist. On the other hand, if you delay the visit and age catches up with your child, you should still seek orthodontic services to fix any complications as it may not be too late.
1. Jaw Alignment and Tooth Crowding My Already Be Happening
As your kid is growing up, their dental formula will keep changing from the time they shed the baby teeth to the time the permanent teeth are coming in. During this stage, it is easy to notice any complications such as an overbite, underbite or even a crossbite. You will be able to notice misplaced, crooked, and overcrowded teeth. These signs strongly indicate that you should take your child to see an orthodontist.
Early Treatment Can Prevent Issues
Early treatment will prevent dental issues from becoming severe as the child grows older. The orthodontist will examine your child’s dental problems and will recommend the most fitting solution. After an orthodontic exam, your child may need to get same-day braces or a simple orthodontic thumb guard. However, braces are the most common method of straightening teeth when a child is young. Braces are mostly applied for aesthetics, while overbites are the second common reason for their application.
In some rare cases, extreme intervention such as corrective jaw surgery may be applied. Your orthodontist will also be able to identify missing and extra teeth and handle them professionally to avert further dental issues.
3. The Orthodontist Will Be Able to Correct Bad Habits
At an early age, your kid may develop poor oral habits such as teeth grinding, finger sucking, tongue sucking, breathing via the mouth, or you may have overexposed your kid to a pacifier or bottle. The orthodontist is specially trained to offer you expert guidance so that you can train your kid for better oral habits and refrain the child from becoming addicted to bad oral habits. This will not only help the kid form good oral habits but also will maintain the kid’s dental health. Additionally, the oral training will help your kid’s social life as they grow older, saving them from adult rebuke and ridicule that such bad oral habits attract.
4. Control and Guide Tooth Eruption
When your kid experiences excess discomfort when they’re teething, it might mean that some unerupted teeth do not have enough space to come out. Using X-rays, the orthodontist will be able to ascertain the trajectory that the unerupted teeth will take. Consequently, if there are teeth standing in the way, the orthodontist will find a suitable treatment method that will ease the eruption. Failure to do this will result in crooked teeth, and a number of them will cause a misaligned jawline.
5. Helps Boosts Your Kid’s Self-Esteem
There are many cases of brace-wearing teens being bullied for having braces at the age of 16 or 17. If you do not take your child to an orthodontist early enough, they may have to wear braces in their teenage years. To save your kid from similar social bullying in the future, seek the services of orthodontists at the early stages when the kid is growing up.
Excellent orthodontists will ensure that your kid grows with optimum dental health and avoid future complications. The earlier your child sees an orthodontist, the better chances you have to arrest dental complications at an early age.
